An urgent labor shortage of qualified, high-skilled workers exists in the U.S. today. Companies have high demand for employees fluent in STEM skills. USPTO Chief Administrative Officer Wynn Coggins joined industry leaders in a CES panel discussion titled “Preparing America for Jobs of the Future” to highlight the importance of educating our existing and future workforce to succeed in the ever-changing global and digital economy.

To learn more, watch the panel discussion here.

The USPTO is seeking nominations for the 2018 National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The medal is the country's highest award for technological achievement and is presented by the President of the United States.

The medal is awarded to individuals, teams (up to four individuals), companies, or divisions of companies for their outstanding contributions to America's economic, environmental and social well-being. The medal highlights those who have made a national impact through technological innovation, commercialization, and/or strengthening the nation’s technological workforce. The medal also seeks to inspire future generations of Americans to prepare for and pursue technical careers that keep the United States at the forefront of global technology and economic leadership.

To learn more, read the press release.

The USPTO announced that it will host the 2018 National Trademark Exposition at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution on Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28, 2018.

The two-day event helps support the missions of the USPTO and the Smithsonian by educating the public about the history and value of trademarks and their importance in the global marketplace through informational seminars, children’s workshops, displays of authentic and counterfeit goods, and other exhibits featuring registered trademarks.

To learn more, read the press release.

Employees of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) like to say: “We have our trials, but our work is appealing.” So what does that mean, exactly? The Board’s 60th birthday in 2018 offers the perfect opportunity to take a closer look.

The TTAB is an administrative tribunal within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and seeks to spur job creation by the timely adjudication of trademark disputes. The Board’s trial proceedings are similar in many ways to a federal district court, except that we don’t hear testimony from live witnesses. Instead, our proceedings are conducted outside the Board and in writing; and we make decisions based on written administrative records, although parties can opt for an oral hearing in their cases after the presentation of evidence is complete.

Read the blog by Chief Administrative Trademark Judge Gerard Rogers and Administrative Trademark Judge Susan Hightower.

In 2017, the USPTO’s Technology Centers held ten Patents Customer Partnership Meetings, and based on their success, we plan to increase the number of meetings this year. Started several years ago, these meetings provide a valuable opportunity for our customers to meet directly with Technology Center Group Directors, Supervisory Patent Examiners, and other agency representatives in a collaborative forum. The meetings focus on various technical areas such as manufacturing, biotechnology, cybersecurity, business methods, computer, and other electrical technologies. The events are free, open to the public, and are often webcast to include viewing sessions across the country.

Read the blog by Commissioner for Patents Drew Hirshfeld and Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations Andy Faile.

Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality Valencia Martin Wallace held the first Patent Quality Chat in the 2018 webinar series on January 9, titled “Unlocking Open Data for our Patent Customers.”

USPTO speakers Thomas A. Beach, Chief Data Strategist and Scott Beliveau, Branch Chief of Enterprise Advanced Analytics, discussed how you can leverage data for your needs, including considering affirmance rate by rejection type, citation usage, consistency of rejections being made across technologies, and much more. They highlighted some of the USPTO’s quality efforts that use this data to improve the consistency of patent prosecution and the quality of issued patents.

Patent Quality Chat is a monthly lunchtime webinar series that provides information on patent quality topics and gathers public input.

To learn more about the January Patent Quality Chat, watch the archived livestream or view the presentation slides. 

On Jan. 25, 2018, the USPTO held “Developing the Digital Marketplace for Copyrighted Works” at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. This meeting, organized by the Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force, follows up on earlier public meetings held by the Task Force in December 2013, April 2015, and December 2016.

Topics covered included: (1) initiatives to advance the digital content marketplace, with a focus on standards, interoperability, and digital registries and database initiatives to track ownership and usage rights and facilitate licensing; (2) innovative technologies (e.g. blockchain, artificial intelligence) designed to improve the ways consumers access and use photos, film, music, text, and other types of digital content; (3) international initiatives, including the role of government in facilitating such initiatives and technological development.

To learn more, view the agenda

“CES 2018 Day 3: Technology unveiled with Wynn Coggins”
CNET

“The National Inventors Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Class of Inductees”
National Inventors Hall of Fame

“Two Federal scientists make it to the National Inventors Hall of Fame”
Terry Wing, Federal News Radio

“John Cabeca, with the Scoop on Patents”
Lori H. Schwartz, The Tech Cat Show

“Patent Office offers data on its decision-making process”
Tom Temin, Federal News Radio

“Patent Office to Stay Open Even if Government Shuts Down”
Peter Leung, Bloomberg